A crucial part of Michigan’s turnaround is capitalizing on technology growth in the automotive sector, according to the newest initiative unveiled this week by the Detroit-based Business Leaders for Michigan.

The plan, which was spearheaded with New York-based advisory firm McKinsey & Co. and Ann Arbor-based Center for Automotive Research, is to gain an additional 100,000 jobs in the sector by focusing on advanced powertrain, lightweighting and connected vehicle technologies, the organization said in a news release.

Doug Rothwell, BLM executive director, said the state has been passive on attracting and growing research and development in these areas.

“A lot of countries and states are aiming for our industry; we can’t take what we have for granted and need a proactive approach going forward,” Rothwell said. “We’re here to develop a real strategy and put leadership behind it.”

This new initiative is part of BLM’s larger Michigan Turnaround Plan, which seeks to create as many as 500,000 jobs over the next decade by focusing on six existing assets to turn Michigan into a top-10 state.

The first step in turning the state into a “Global Center for Mobility” is to assemble a leadership committee, Rothwell said. The committee will include industry and government leaders, including Nigel Francis, Gov. Rick Snyder’s automotive adviser; Jay Baron from CAR; Rob Luce, program manager for MichAuto, as well as others.

Rothwell said the committee will form after Francis and Snyder lay out their vision for the industry early next year.

The committee will develop an action plan for implementing a marketing strategy, create or attract new auto technology conferences, attract connected vehicle R&D and education, as well as create strong private/public business relationships, the report said.

Automotive software holds a large growth opportunity, according to the report, with embedded software expected to top $12 billion in 2025, up from $2 billion today.

“The automotive industry is fast becoming a mobility industry,” Bill Ford, executive chairman of Dearborn-based Ford Motor Co. and chair of BLM’s mobility initiative, said in a news release. “While Michigan already is the automotive leader, we need to take actions now to ensure that we are the leader of the emerging mobility industry.”